The World’s 100 Best Outsourcing Providers Named

<strong>Poughkeepsie, N.Y. &mdash; April 28 </strong><br />Established U.S.-based companies surpassed overseas competition to earn the top two spots on this year&rsquo;s Global Outsourcing 100, the annual expert ranking of the world&rsquo;s best outsourcing service providers compiled by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP). <br /> <br />Accenture was ranked the No. 1 outsourcing service provider for the first time, coming out ahead of IBM, who had garnered the leading position since the list&rsquo;s inception three years ago.<br /> <br />Half of the top 10 companies are from India, reflecting the strong growth in the outsourcing industry in that country. Infosys Technologies was No. 3 on the Leaders List, representing firms with annual sales of $60 million or more. Two companies based in France also earned the highest rankings from the independent panel of recognized industry leaders. <br /> <br />&ldquo;The power balance in the outsourcing industry is shifting,&rdquo; said Jagdish Dalal, IAOP&rsquo;s managing director of thought leadership, who led the judges&rsquo; panel. &ldquo;Global competition in outsourcing is intensifying and that was reflected in this year&rsquo;s ranking with companies from 19 countries vying for recognition.&rdquo;<br /> <br />The compilation of data also provides a unique snapshot of the industry and reveals its continued fast growth. Revenue in the Leaders group grew by 24 percent in 2007, compared to 16 percent growth the previous year. Companies on this list averaged $1.7 billion in annual sales and engaged 27,000 employees around the world.<br /> <br /><strong>Selection Process </strong><br />IAOP established the list as a resource to help companies compare providers using an objective methodology and make better-informed decisions when selecting suppliers. It includes both Leaders and Rising Stars, as well as 25 sublists based on geographies, services and industry.<br /> <br />Similar to the qualifying process that companies use to select vendors, companies are ranked on quality following a rigorously judged application process that examines 18 criteria. The final rankings are based on a weighted average of the judges&rsquo; scores on demonstrated competencies, size and growth, management capabilities and customer references.<br /> <br />&ldquo;At a time when companies that outsource are scrutinizing their providers more closely, the criteria our judges used in this ranking are increasingly important in differentiating the top players in the industry,&rdquo; said Michael Corbett, IAOP chairman. &ldquo;The Global Outsourcing 100 is a comprehensive and useful guide to help companies research and compare service providers they are considering engaging or expanding outsourcing relationships with.&rdquo;<br /> <br /><strong>Leaders from India and Europe</strong><br />Following Accenture, IBM and Infosys on the Leaders List were France&rsquo;s Sodexo and Capgemini. The other top-ranked, India-based firms were Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro Technologies, Genpact and Tech Mahindra. Hewlett-Packard of Palo Alto, Calif., came in eighth on the list. <br /> <br />Other notables include ISS A/S, the giant Denmark-based services company that made the list for the first time, and two firms that moved from Rising Stars to the Leaders category: Outsource Partners International, a finance and accounting services firm based in Los Angeles, and the Russian global software development firm Luxoft.<br /> <br /><strong>Outsourcing Up-and-Comers </strong><br />In addition to the ranking of established players in the Leaders category, the IAOP list also identifies the up and comers in its Rising Stars list of companies with annual growth of more than 33 percent.<br /> <br />In this category, more than 60 percent of the winners are based outside the U.S., indicating that the companies to watch for in the future will be in emerging countries, according to Dalal.<br /> <br />First-time honorees include Beyondsoft, a localization firm based in China; LawScribe, a legal-process outsourcing provider based in the U.S.; and MERA NN, a software R&D firm based in Russia.<br /> <br />Several of the Rising Star companies have been recognized every year since the inception of the list. These include Summit HR Worldwide, based in Silicon Valley; the Chinese software outsourcing provider Bleum; and the market research firm Cross-Tab Marketing Services, based in India. Also earning repeat recognition are two business-process outsourcers: India-based vCustomer and Datrose, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y.<br /> <br />The seven-judge evaluation team that ranked winners was led by Dalal, a Certified Outsourcing Professional (COP) and world-renowned outsourcing expert. The other judges included: Vera Marques, former BASF CIO and current Roche CIO, South America &ndash; Brazil; Manish Sahai, Vice President, Customer Service International, Service Network Partners, American Express; Kurt Kohorst, COP, Assistant Vice President, Business Process Outsourcing, Safeco Insurance; Robert van der Eijk, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Eric Storey, Senior Associate, Outsourcing Advisory Services, Booz Allen Hamilton; and Arno IJmker, Partner, Quint Wellington Redwood (IAOP&rsquo;s Global Training Partner). <br />